What Is A Furnace Filter

gettyimages-1214337787 — How often exercise you clean or supervene upon your furnace filter?
Getty Images

Homeownership comes with what feels like a never-ending to-do listing. One important job on that list is ensuring your heating and cooling system is properly maintained. Yous should be replacing your furnace's air filter on a regular footing to keep your HVAC organization working properly and ensure your family has good air quality in your abode. Keep reading to acquire how furnace filters piece of work, how often you should supplant yours, what type of filter to get and more.

Read more:Furnace buying guide: Discover the best furnace for your habitation

How furnace filters piece of work

Before we talk about replacing your furnace filter, let's talk about the purpose these filters serve and how they work. The job of a furnace filter is to trap contaminants from escaping through your domicile's heating and cooling arrangement.

There are two reasons it's of import to filter out these contaminants. First, a good furnace filter will go along the air in your home cleaner by trapping any airborne contaminants. This is specially important for anyone with allergies or asthma, as the filter helps remove pollen, dust and other allergens.

The other reason the filter exists is to protect your HVAC arrangement. Without a filter, dirt and other debris tin can accumulate in your heating and cooling arrangement, affecting your free energy nib and requiring you to replace your HVAC organization sooner.

How often to replace a furnace filter

As you can tell, your furnace filter serves an important chore in your dwelling house. As a outcome, it's important to supersede it on a regular basis to ensure it tin can continue to do its job well.

So how often should you replace your air filter? That depends on a few factors. Outset, how ofttimes yous replace your filter depends on the thickness of your air filter. Well-nigh filters should be replaced every three months. For thicker filters, you may be able to extend that by several months. If you aren't sure, cheque the manufacturer's recommendation for the specific filter y'all've purchased.

But the thickness of your air filter isn't the only gene to consider. For example, if you have someone in your habitation with allergies or asthma who requires better indoor air quality, you lot may want to supersede your filter more oft.

Additionally, if you have pets at home creating fur or dander, or a big family unit to bring in more than contaminants, you lot may too wish to supercede your filter more oft. On the other hand, if the home is primarily a vacation abode that isn't used ofttimes, you may be able to extend the amount of time before you replace the filter.

Finding the right filter for your furnace

When you replace your air filter, it'south important that you find the right filter for your dwelling. Not all filters are created equally, and your heating and cooling system may require a certain type.

First, exist sure to buy the right size filter for your HVAC system. Mutual filter sizes are 16x20, 16x25 or 20x25 inches. You lot can check the filter yous currently take to encounter what size information technology is.

In addition to choosing the right size, you'll also have to make up one's mind what type of filter you lot desire. There are several different types, each of which has different advantages. The most common type of filter is fiberglass -- this blazon of filter is often nearly an inch thick and catches large contaminants. It may not be sufficient if you have someone in your home with asthma or allergies, since it can fail to trap smaller contaminants.

Other types of filters include:

Disposable pleated: This type of filter is fabricated of cotton or polyester, is able to catch modest particles, and is the nearly affordable. This type of filter should be inverse more than frequently.
Disposable electrostatic: Made of self-charging electrostatic paper or cotton fibers, this type of filter can trap pocket-sized harmful particles. This type of filter is slightly more than expensive than the disposable pleated only less expensive than some of the higher quality filters beneath.
Permanent electrostatic: This type of filter is similar to the disposable electrostatic one, just is permanent. Y'all tin remove it and clean it, or even wash it in the washing machine. They are more expensive only don't need to be replaced, saving you money in the long run.
Loftier-efficiency pleated: This blazon of filter is thicker than many others, often upwardly to iv or five inches. This type of filter tin trap the smallest particles, creating the all-time air quality. This blazon of filter is more than expensive and tin can't be used with all filters.

How to change a furnace filter

Now that we've talked near how oft to supplant your air filter and what type to get, let'due south talk almost how to get virtually replacing your filter. Here's an easy step-past-stride guide to replacing your air filter:

1. Turn off your furnace.

2. Locate your filter compartment and remove the door or service panel.

3. Slide the old filter out.

4. Slide the new filter in.

5. Plow your furnace dorsum on.

The lesser line

Your furnace's air filter is an important part of ensuring yous have good air quality in your home and extending the life of your HVAC system. They're easy to replace, only information technology's disquisitional that you replace them on a regular basis and buy the right type of filter for your furnace. If yous have questions nearly your furnace or aren't sure where to start with replacing your filter, be certain to contact a qualified professional for help.

More than home guides

Humidifier buying guide: What you need to know nearly portable humidifiers
Space heater safety guide: Turn upwardly the heat -- just without the risk of fire
Heat pump buying guide: Everything you lot demand to know about this furnace and Ac alternative
Solar console ownership guide: Everything you need to know